Meet Our Clergy
RABBI BRADLEY TECKTIEL
Building a better world is important to Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel who works with congregants as they head up several Tikkun Olam projects each year. Rabbi Tecktiel, who teaches the 7th - 12th Grade Ma'ayan class, can often be found in the Religious School and Early Childhood Center classrooms and Youth Lounge working directly with the students and USYers. His office door is not only open to the congregation, but to the children of the congregation as well. Teens and pre-teens often drop by to say hello, keeping him updated on their activities at school, sharing ideas and thoughts on the community and current events. Visiting the sick, sharing life cycle events, counseling congregants, and officiating at shabbat and holiday services puts Rabbi Tecktiel in daily contact with the congregation.
Rabbi Tecktiel has served as the President of the Board of Southern Nevada Rabbis. He has held a board position on the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, has headed up the Federation's Jewish Community Relations Committee, and is a vital part of the Jewish community. He has brought innovative educational programming to Midbar Kodesh Temple.
Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel took the pulpit as Midbar Kodesh Temple's spiritual leader in August 2008, when he and his wife, Susan, with their three children, moved to Green Valley Ranch. The Tecktiels came to Nevada from Louisville, Kentucky, where he had served Keneseth Israel. Rabbi Tecktiel was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in May of 1996. He holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees, one from List College and one from Columbia University. He also holds a Masters of Arts from the Jewish Theological Seminary.
CANTOR RAQUEL POMERANTZ GERSHON
Jewish music has always been one of Cantor Gershon’s greatest passions. Coming from a family of rabbis, cantors and educators, it was almost inevitable that she would become a Jewish professional. In addition to her many years of teaching music, tefillah and Judaica, and her vast experience as a prayer leader and lifecycle officiant, she is an award winning composer of contemporary Jewish music who has performed around the USA, Israel and beyond.
A beloved educator, Cantor Gershon has prepared hundreds of students to become b’nai mitzvah and has taught people of all ages and abilities to read Hebrew, to read Torah and to lead services. In addition to degrees from Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she studied hazzanut, she has a master’s degree in Special Education from Teachers College.
Cantor Gershon enjoys spending time with our MKT members, from singing Shabbat songs with the ECC, to teaching tefilla to the religious school students, to preparing the b’nai mitzvah, to meeting people of all ages at Shabbat services, to spending early mornings with the minyan gang, and to sharing lifecycle events. She relishes the opportunity interact with the greater community and to continue to touch the lives of our MKT families in meaningful ways.
A proud mother of three adult children and a wonderful new son-in-law, she is thrilled to be living here in the Green Valley neighborhood and loving the sunshine!